Tseng's Holiday
by orangeturquoise
Summary: Tseng is sent on vacation and makes an unexpected discovery that might just overthrow his entire life. As if that weren't enough he must eventually face a past he had long buried. sometimes you must first lose yourself to find the right way.
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: sadly I, too, do not own any final fantasy characters, but only my original character. to get her name you will have to read a few chapters into the story (I'm brilliant) hehehe. enjoy

**1st Chapter: Vacation occupation**

Tseng sighed discontently as he stepped out of the Shinra building. The skies were portraying his mood rather nicely. It rained heavily. The reason for the dark haired Turks frustration was that he wasn't to return here for at least three weeks. Rufus had sent him on VACATION!!!! What the heck?!? True, he hadn't had a free day, unless due to injury, in almost six years and lately he had even been a bit forgetful and, at times, strangely tired. Okay, maybe the president had a point. Face it, boy, you're a workaholic. Tseng sighed again. A slight annoyance overcame him as he realized that he would be soaking wet by the time he reached his car. He actually didn't have an umbrella on him. Well, maybe a bit of rest wouldn't be _that_ bad after all…

Suddenly the tall Wutaians eyes narrowed. There was something out there in the parking lot, a shadow-like bundle squatting about ten feet from Tseng's car. Cautiously he approached it, his Turk senses on highest reception. As he neared he heard a low whimpering noise followed by a violent coughing attack. The figure shuddered as the Turk picked it up carefully. He gazed into grey-bluish eyes that were glazed with fever and pain. With his trained eyes he quickly took in the situation: the figure in front of him was a young girl, yet her exact age was hard to guess. She was dripping wet and wore nothing more than a ripped shirt, some shorts and a dark coat. Her left shoulder and arm were a bloody mess, literally, and blood kept on seeping from the gash in it. She was pale as a sheet, coughing again, blood too, as he now noticed. Yet it only stained her chin for a moment before the rain washed her marble skin clean again. Then the thin girl collapsed into his arms.

Tseng groaned inwardly as he heaved the limp body onto the back seat of his car. He could have brought her inside the Shinra building, but just this night it would have been of no use as he was the absolutely _last_ to leave today. If they send me on vacation, he had thought to himself earlier that day, I will at least finish off all the open reports. Now he silently cursed himself for taking so long. Earlier and he could have simply discarded of the bleeding bundle. Now he had to take her to his very own home. Annoyance overcame him again. Then again, he thought while glancing to the back seat, he couldn't have just left her there. She was completely helpless after all. Bleeding and probably sick from the cold she surely would have died. The figure in the back seat gasped audibly and jerked violently in feverish spasms for a few moments.

"Don't worry, we will be at a warm place in three minutes." He whispered to her. Whoops, where had that come from? Good she couldn't hear him, he thought as he pulled up in front of his apartment building. Fumbling for his keys and the retrieving the weakened female from the back seat Tseng swore to himself that she would only stay for the remainder of the night. He would drive her to a hospital first thing in the morning.

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here it is, my dear people: the first chapter of my first fanfic (proud). sorry it turned out so short, but it certainly looks a lot more on paper in my own handwriting (sigh). forgiveness please, chapters will get longer. 

anyway, as this is my very first attempt at writing this stuff please be kind but honest with me. love it? great! only like parts of it? reviews are much appreciated. I'd like to do better, really. hate it? oh nooooooooooooo, (bangs head against wall)!!! well in that case tell me too, but please do it in a constructive way so I know what to avoid. thank you all very much for your attention.


	2. Chapter 2

**2nd Chapter: Caring**

Tseng tried to reach for the door handle without dropping the unconscious girl in his arms. He was panting slightly from the effort though the slender female was everything but heavy. She would probably not be more than half his weight, he guessed. Yet her going from sudden feverish jerks into complete limpness and back every few minutes didn't help. Finally he had the door opened and gently placed her on the couch. Upon returning with the first aid kit from the bathroom he looked at the girl, no, woman actually, with a little curiosity. Now that the light was better he guessed her to be in her early twenties. With a little smirk he also noticed that she was quite pretty. In better days one could even call her beautiful. Yet now her harmonic features were distorted in pain as she clutched her injured shoulder tightly.

Tseng dropped to his knees next to the couch and started to peel her out of the wet coat. The cloth of the shirt was so ripped in the area of her shoulder that he didn't actually have to take it off to tend the wound. She winced as he started cleaning and bandaging it.

"Sorry." He muttered apologetically. Damnit, where did which come from again? Maybe he really _did_ need a holiday.

Fine, so what now? The rational part of his brain said to get her out off the wet clothes. At that he blushed slightly. Well, it' no use. She needs to get warm again. With a sigh he began to pull off the remnants of her bloodied shirt, but found himself oddly relieved when he saw that she wore an off white singlet underneath. That would just have been too awkward. Tseng than figured that she couldn't lie on the narrow couch. He was feeling quite exhausted now himself. Due to that it took him considerably more effort this time to carry the woman into the next room and set her down on his bed and dress her in his warmest winter pyjamas, then propping blankets around the frail body. With that done he returned to the lounge, but quickly decided that he didn't want to spend the night on the small couch either. It was perfectly alright for sitting on it but lying down? Damn chivalry. With yet another sigh he set up the guest mattress on the floor next to the bed. It was still _his_ bedroom after all. Plus, he wanted to be available, just in case…darn, when did you become so compassionate towards perfect strangers again? You're a bloody Turk, for goodness sake. Before his thoughts could trail any further he fell into the deep slumber of exhaustion.

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sorry again that this is short as well. apart from that the same things apply as in my notes on the end of chapter one. please R&R. Thank you. 


	3. Chapter 3

3rd Chapter: Nursing

The next morning had come far too early for Tseng's liking. The sun tickled and teased him slowly out of the sweet oblivion of sleep. In this state of not being fully awake but not really asleep either he heard a faint ruffle of sheets. While trying to remember what had happened last suddenly all air was forced out of his lungs as something dropped onto of him. In an instant Tseng was wide awake. It was all coming back to him now: being sent on vacation, leaving late, discovering an injured woman in the parking lot. Said woman had just fallen on top of him. After freeing himself and regaining some breath he looked at the unconscious female.

"That's already the second time you drive me out of my bed, you know?" he remarked amusedly. Good nobody could hear him. The more surprised he was when she suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him intensely. Her eyes, he now noticed, weren't grey or blue but lavender. An odd colour, he thought, though not unpleasant. After what seemed like hours gazing into these unusual eyes he realized that the pale female was actually looking at him in plain fear.

"Don't worry," he heard himself say, "I do not intend to harm you." He tried to smile reassuringly. Apparently it worked as she relaxed a bit.

"Who are you?" the both of them almost asked simultaneously.

"I asked first!" she shot an insecure glare at him.

"My name is Tseng Sayjing, Miss. I found you last night, out on the street." He made a vague gesture towards the window. "You were injured." He added, almost as if to justify himself.

"Why?" she requested incredulously.

"Well, how am I supposed to know? You should know better what happened to you actually."

"No, I mean why did you pick me up instead of leaving me there to die?" she demanded.

Tseng looked back at her sheepishly. "Oh, right, of course…" he muttered as a faint blush crept onto his cheeks again. "Tell me who you are first, "he said, composing himself quickly, "I saved you after all."

Now it was her turn to blush. "I…I don't remember…just that number …ahem…42 99 24601. There's …nothing more." The slender woman now looked enormously sad and lost. The fact that his pyjamas were at least two sizes too big probably added to the effect. Nevertheless Tseng found himself noticing that she wasn't merely slim but almost desperately skinny, as if she hadn't eaten a proper meal in ages.

He tilted his head upwards to look at her face again.

"Well, first you'll need something to eat. You must be hungry. As for the name, I'll just call you Violet, okay?"

She shot him a questioning glance. "Violet?"

"The colour of your eyes, just for the time being. I think I have a vague idea of how to find out your real name, although I don't know it will work."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

That was a very good question indeed, and the truth was that he didn't really know himself. The pale woman shuddered.

"Right, I will prepare breakfast." Tseng stated standing up. "You can take a shower if you like." With these words he handed her a towel. He pointed to another door. "Bathroom's over there …and, oh …I will have to redo your bandages after that." As he said the last part of his little speech he was almost grateful for having reached the kitchen already so that she couldn't see the blush that had crept onto his cheeks once more. As he was turned away he also couldn't see the bright pink glowing in her face.

After some time Violet returned to the room he had previously bandaged her wounds in (the lounge and kitchen were merged into one room). She was still wearing his pyjamas but now she looked a whole lot more relaxed and her long hair was untangled and clean, yet still wet. Where it had begun to dry already he could see that it was a warm chocolaty-caramel colour.

"Have a seat." He simply stated as he ushered her into one of the kitchen chairs before setting down a plate in front of her. She sniffed.

"What is that?"

"It's a special Wutaian stew. My mother used to make it for us children when we were sick." He babbled quickly.

"_Damn, boy; what are you doing? Telling a total stranger your life story? You're completely beside yourself. I think now that you definitely need a holiday." _The voice inside his head snickered. Shut up, brain, he thought. Focus.

Violet eyed the plate suspiciously.

"Hey, it's not poisoned, I swear." Tseng remarked quickly and took a spoonful as if to prove his point. This seemed to convince her as she started eating, too; slowly at first but becoming more impatient with every bite. She had obviously been starving before.

"Now I'm warm again." She muttered, more to herself. Tseng heard it nevertheless. Intuitively he reached over the table and placed his hand on her forehead as he began to speak.

"Must be the shivers then, because you still have fever."

Upon this statement she put her hand up to her forehead like in trance, only to have land on top of Tseng's. The whole situation screamed awkwardness. In sudden realization Tseng withdrew his hand quickly. Before she could notice his deep crimson blush he grabbed the dishes to place them in the sink.

"Think of something." She told herself. "The tension here could be cut with a knife. Say something…"

"My shoulder…" she began slowly. Just as she finally directed her attention towards it sharp pain hit her like a bullet. She let out a low moan that made her saviour jerk around.

"Right, "he stated "better have a look at that."

He grabbed a small box off the kitchen counter and was by her side in three long strides. He smiled again as he motioned her to bare the injured shoulder. Violet complied almost automatically. As her host was now completely focused on the wound she had some time to study him more closely. He could without a doubt be called handsome with his sleek raven black hair that reached down to the shoulders and his elegant features. His eyes, as she now noticed, weren't black or brown, but actually a very dark grey, almost anthracite in colour. They reminded her of the skies during a thunderstorm or the ocean with their apparent calmness that could change into intense wildness without warning. Yet somehow she felt as if she could trust this reserved, polite and stoic man beyond limits.

The ocean…that brought something back to her. A long forgotten string of memories re-emerged from the back of her mind.

"I was born in Junon." She said cautiously.

Tseng glanced up at her, but didn't reply as if not to interrupt her thoughts, so she went on.

"We had a house near the ocean, on a cliff. There were gulls nesting under the roof. I used to scare away the cat so she wouldn't hunt down their young. But she didn't like it. She bit me…" Violet was now examining two faint white lines on the back of her right hand.

"That's how I got these." She continued. "I was four years old. The next thing I remember…a storm…my father died in it." Her voice died down and her eyes moistened slightly, yet she did not cry.

"That all?" Tseng asked.

"Yeah, as for now…" she flinched inwardly as he withdrew his hands from her now fully bandaged shoulder. Their gentleness had been comforting.

"I am very sorry for the loss of your father." He stated.

"Th-thank you…for all your help." She whispered. Then, suddenly remembering something, she glanced back at him.

"You said that maybe you know how to find out more about me."

"Huh? Oh, y-yes, I think I do. Well, at least it should be worth a try."

"Why do you do this?" she demanded again.

Her stare made him nervous. He, the leader of the Turks, so completely on edge because of a girl who seemed around as dangerous as a water lily. Yet he couldn't help it. Her eyes seemed to look deep into his soul and see what he did not even know was there.

"Curiosity, I guess."

"Curiosity killed the cat." She shot back.

"Yes perhaps, but a least the cat didn't die stupid." His answer surprised himself.

She smiled wryly at his response, and gods, what a gorgeous smile that was.

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yes, I did it! typed and uploaded three chapters within one afternoon. I rule!! anyway, this is for you guys to enjoy as I won't be able to post anything further for the next two weeks. holidays!!!

so on my return I expect to find lots and lots of reviews. thanks again for your time


	4. Chapter 4

**4****th**** Chapter: At the sickbed**

Tseng turned and went into the other room to get his laptop. Suddenly he heard a low moan and a soft thumping noise. The Wutaian shot back into the kitchen to find his protégée's fever rapidly re-increased and her unconscious on the floor. Instinctively he picked the light body up, carried her back to the bed and propped blankets around her, just as he had done the night before. Tseng did not fool himself, he was worried. What in the world could have caused her condition to deteriorate that dramatically when she had seemed alright just a moment ago? All in all she was a complete mystery: partial amnesia, which might have just come from the stress and blood loss of the night. Where did the injuries come from then? Maybe Shinra's experiments had something to do with it? Then again what interest could the company have in a petite Junonese girl? Her accent doubtlessly verified the story about her origins. Well, it seemed that for more he would have to wait as indeed she was in a pity state now. Shivering violently, ghastly pale, cold sweat, coughing up blood again and delirious. He left the door open so he still had her in view when he went to rummage the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. What he found wasn't much but it might help: disinfectant, cough medicine, aspirins and a fever-lowering tea. This would have to do then.

The next hours Tseng spent trying to keep her temperature in control. Fever was a spiteful force. Once too high it scorched the body from the inside. Luckily the brutal coughing attacks subsided quickly once he got her to swallow some of the cough medicine. By the time she was stable it was late afternoon already. Realizing just how much energy the whole ordeal had drained from him he more collapsed than sat down next to the bed and rested his head on his forearms which were positioned a few inches away from where Violet's uninjured arm was resting. I'll only close my eyes for a moment, he thought, only a minute or two.

Of course it didn't quite work out that way, so when Tseng awoke again it was already quarter to nine and he had slept a good couple of hours. Groaning he stretched his stiff muscles. A quick glance at the figure on the bed told him that she would be alright for the time being, so he proceeded to the bathroom and took a much needed shower. The hot water helped his muscles relax and relieved a bit of his pounding migraine. _Didn't you mean to take her to a hospital this morning?_ His inner voice snickered. Shut up, brain. There's nothing wrong with being nice every once in a while, and if it's just to prove that I'm not a complete monster yet.

Plus, those intense eyes were just stuck in his mind, that and her smile.

Tseng returned to the bedroom where much to his secret relief he found his patient in what seemed to be more sleep than delirium. Her breathing had calmed down and taken on a steady rhythm. Her body had relaxed and all tension was gone. Even her face wasn't scrunched up in agony anymore. The soft moonlight that shone through the window gave the whole scene a certain serene peacefulness. Tseng let his gaze rest on her face for a while. Her thick wavy brunette hair was just long enough to cover her shoulders. Her skin was absolutely flawless. It looked like alabaster, just more organic, alive. The eyebrows were arched elegantly above those intriguing lavender eyes which were now closed, of course. Her eyes were also slightly almond-shaped. This feature together with the high cheekbones made him wonder if the young woman had had some Wutaian ancestry at some point. At last, her lips were full and luscious, but without dominating the face. They were swung in just the same simple elegance as the eyebrows. Everything was balanced and in perfect harmony. She was indeed beautiful, he thought.

Tseng had fallen asleep not more than an hour ago when he was awakened again by a stifled cry and some silent sobbing. Concerned he pushed himself up from his provisory bed. A glance at his alarm clock told him that it was 2 am. Stiffly he turned to face the sick girl. He didn't like at all what he got to see. She had become delirious again, breathing heavily and sweating hard. She seemed to either hallucinate or have a _very_ bad nightmare. This could be told from her lovely face yet again displaying an insane amount of suffering, the way she threw herself from one side to the other, from the wild jerkings of her arms and legs, as if to beat back an enemy that was much stronger. Then there was the crying. Her face and hair and effectively the whole area around her head, including clothes and sheets, was soaked. Also she let out agonized yells and whimpering noises. Whatever she was going through in her head, it wasn't pleasant. She spoke, too. Tseng couldn't understand it at first, as it were rather faint whispers beneath all the sobbing and heavy breathing. After a while though he started to recognize words, then word groups and finally he could make out whole passages. What he heard wasn't any better than what he saw though. This woman sure had been through a lot in her young life. It made Tseng angry to have to watch her pain like this, first for he did not know why she had been put through it, and secondly because he could do nothing to ease her suffering. He felt helpless, useless and furious at whoever was responsible for this. In just a day he had grown strangely attached to the beautiful young woman. In an impulse he took her hand in his gingerly, gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. Almost suddenly all her movement died down. She basically collapsed into a miserable sobbing bundle. This was almost worse than before. She looked so defeated, broken. Tseng's heart literally ached at the sight of it. In one smooth motion he pulled himself up and sat down on the bed beside her, still holding her left hand in his right, he now proceeded to rub the area between her shoulder blades soothingly, too. This at last seemed to calm her down a bit. Still, tears were freely flowing down her face.

At around quarter to five she finally fell asleep again. Tseng had been sitting there the entire time, holding her hand and rubbing her back, not able to do anything. The woman held his mind captive and didn't even know it. Whoever was responsible for this would have to pay he vowed. Yet now that she had calmed down exhaustion kicked in with full force, so he just laid down where he sat. He was gone immediately. In his deep slumber Tseng couldn't notice that the fragile woman unconsciously snuggled closer to him and wrapped her good arm tightly around his waist.

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tadaah, I am now back from my vacation but haven't found any reviews :(

to encourage you this is the fourth chapter for your reading pleasure. enjoy and review!!!! I mean it, REVIEW!!!


	5. Chapter 5

heyheyhey, thank you impish for your review!

here's the next chappie doeslittlehappydance

enjoy

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**5th Chapter: Falling**

Hm, comfy, he thought as he slowly slipped from deep sleep into some sort of semi-slumber. He felt warm. He was lying on a comfy mattress. His eyelids were too heavy to lift as were all his muscles. At this moment Tseng didn't think at all, he just felt, and what he felt were the definitions of comfort and relaxation. He really had been burned out before. Now he felt completely refreshed. But then with any good feelings it's always bound to end sooner or later. At least Tseng was allowed a considerable amount of time in which, very, very slowly, his senses, brain and memory resettled into working mode. In fact he _was _not really a morning person unless he had around half an hour to actually wake up.

He could sense more now: the mild morning sun, a slight smell of pine wood and peaches. And then realization hit him. There was someone lying next to him, _close _next to him. He tried remembering. Tseng had brought home with him a sick and injured young woman, named her Violet by the colour of her eyes as she had amnesia... but what had happened last night? On the most recent events his memory still was shrouded and only returned at a painfully slow pace. Fever, nightmares, anger, exhaustion, moonlight on angelic features, trying desperately to comfort, tears, tiredness...

Bit by bit the heaviness left his body, yet he could not quite muster the strength or courage to open his eyes. Whereas Tseng had felt content and relaxed before now he was battered and bruised. Exhaustion, not physical, but mental, took over again. Suddenly it was as if he was hollow inside except for aches, all from these nightmares that weren't even his own.

Yet his Turk senses couldn't help but notice that the slim female body next to his still had a bit of a higher temperature, though her breathing was calm and even. Her breath also made it clear just how close she was lying to him. Tseng could feel a slender arm, wrapped gingerly around his own waist. Soft hair, now dry again, tickled his nose and lips. Her slightly heated breath stroked his chest just beneath the collarbone. His arm was still resting lightly on the woman's bony shoulder and her small hand securely encased in his. Gently he squeezed it while slowly withdrawing his other arm. She moaned and tried snuggling closer.

A soft voice from far away was calling out to her, but she did not want to leave this world of warmth yet. Her world had been cold for too long. She let out an annoyed noise and tried moving closer to the source of the warmth that was removing itself from her. The voice called out again, louder this time. Still she couldn't grasp the words.

"No." She thought discontent.

"...let" it came, steadily growing tiny bits louder.

"No." She muttered. She had never been a morning person. Something squeezed her hand. "Violet." The soft voice beckoned. Now it was right next to her ear, warm breath caressing her cheek.

"No!" she almost yelled. Her eyes flew open just to look straight into smoky dark grey ones. "Good morning, I believe you feel better today?" he smiled. Jerk.

"You bloody woke me up," She muttered. She _definitely _was _not _a morning person at all. "but regarding the question that would be a yes."

She had serious trouble keeping her eyes open. Sure enough they fell close again.

"Violet?" Tseng asked.

"No..." she sighed, "That's not my real name."

"So you remember?"

"Uh-huh... good night." With that her voice trailed off.

"You need something to eat." He assessed.

"Sleeeeeeeeeeeep." She demanded nosily. Was he chuckling?

"If you don't your body won't have any energy to draw upon, meaning you won't feel any better unless you eat something." Tseng tried to convince her matter-of-factly, but still she noticed a small trace of concern in his voice.

"Damn you and your impervious logic." Before she could protest any more he swiftly withdrew and left for the kitchen. Upon his return he gently picked up her light frame.

After some further rummaging on his side he set down a hot cup of tea in front of her while nudging her shoulder to make her lift her head.

During breakfast she could literally feel the strength returning to her body.

"Thank you for everything, Tseng." She said with sincerity. The bright smile radiating from her face and the sound of her voice saying his name his heart actually skipped a beat.

"You're very welcome. You said you regained your memory?"

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almost forgot: thanks winterrosa for adding this story to your alert list!! you rule! 

in fact all you guys who like my story rule! you really don't have to hold back in reviewing!! thanks :)


	6. Chapter 6

_hello hello people, currently I am sick (damned viruses, they're stupid, throw things at them everyone) anyway. on the one hand this is bad because I have exam season at school which means no sleep for me as soon as I get back to school. on the other hand it means that I have enough time to type up another chapter of my story. and here it is! yippieh!!! ohsoproudofmyself_

_anyway, I would like to thank winterrosa and midnightsun123 for adding this story to their alert list and impish for reviewing._

_for these things I would like to be able to thank more people but in order for that to happen you have to review!!! I mean it! my ego needs it! my goodness, I'm such a bad suck up for reviews sighs_

_enough ranted, here's how the story goes on. in this chapter we finally learn something about my mysterious OC. enjoy!!!_

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**6th Chapter: Remembrance**

She nodded yes. "My name is Skyelar Ocean Celestiano, but everyone just calls me Skye."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance then, Skye." Tseng said as he held out his hand invitingly. Smiling softly she shook it, the touch sending shivers down both their spines.

With his trained Turk senses he realized that his protegée still was extremely weakened by her nightly fever fight. How she had overcome it this quickly inrigued him immensely. Suddenly he remembered another thing. "I will also have to take a look at your shoulder again."

She just smiled wryly and removed the bandages herself. Much to Tseng's astonishment there was nothig left but a thin, lightning-shaped white scar. His eyes were probably just popping right out of his head. This was impossible! "How..." he began incredulously.

"Watch." She simply stated as she took his hand. He had cut himself while preparing breakfast because he had been too distracted thinking about his mysterious house guest. Gently Skye removed the plaster from his palm, revealing a rather nasty cut. Lightly her slender finger traced the wound, causing him to feel a tingling sensation. Almost instantly the cut healed as if in time lapse, only leaving a faint line as a reminder. He send her a questioning glance. Then she started telling him her story.

Skye had been born near Junon. Her family had lived in a cottage directly on a cliff. Her father, a fisherman, had died in a storm when she was still little, about three or maybe four. She said that she couldn't really recall these years very well except for sitting on her fathers lap after dinner. He would tell her stories of every imaginable kind: fairytales, legends, real and made up tales. Then there was the day she had learned that her daddy was gone. A colleague had come to their house to bring them the sad news. Her mum criede the whole week whereas she herself didn't believe it, probably didn't even realize what that meant: death. So the little child had just wondered when daddy finally would come back because she was oh so anxious to hear the rest of the latest story.

Her father had had the gift of healing as well. That was why she couldn't understand why he had to die back then. After that their life was humble and uneventful. They were never rich, but towards her 10th birthday her mum was struggling in the harsh environment of Junon. So one day they packed all their meager belongings, sold the house and moved to Midgar.

Life in the slums had been hard, especially for strangers who hadn't been fed the unwritten laws of this world with the mother's milk. Still, they managed. Her mum had finally found a job as a waitress in one of the more popular bars, owned and operated by the friendly albeit elderly Mr. Morrisson, whom everyone just called "Uncle Jack". From then on things really started to look up. Skye had even managed to get a place at the prestigious Moorefield College on a full scholarship basis.

Of course all good things have to come to an end eventually. Her gift had not gone unnoticed. When she turned fourteen Shinra employees, Turks to be precise, had kidnapped the teenage girl and shot her mother. Then she had been brought into one of their numerous labs where she had lost track of everything that was done to her. It was the place where they had deprived her of her name, her dignity and given her naught but pain and a number: 42 99 24601. All that happened ten years ago, she finally closed.

Especially during the second half of her story Tseng had felt a knot tightening in his chest. Ever since she told about her father a steady flow of silnt tears had trailed down her cheeks. To see her in such a miserable state made him want to wrap his arms around her fragile frame tightly and tell her that everything would be alright, that _she_ would be alright. It was only the way she spoke of Shinra and especially the Turks that kept him. There was so much contempt in her voice, so much barely concealed anger and after hearing her story it was clear why she felt that way. Yet it put him in a very complicated situation which he would need to figure out how to deal with first. To take his mind off these troubling thoughts and his conflicting emotions he broke the silence with a quesition: "If it was ten years then you must be, what, 24 years old now?

She could put on a shy smile despite her tears. "I'll be 24 on November 22nd."

"That would be the day after tomorrow." He replied with a glance at the calendar. "A Sunday."

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_yay, this calls for a party!!! well, he really seems to be falling for her, don't cha think? in the chapters to come we shall see how everything develops. how will tseng deal with the situation? what will they do on her birthday? when does reno finally come into the story? will he at all? sorry, I definitely am on a sugar high right now, plus I'm mildly bored and the music sucks, too. perhaps I should change the cd._

_stay tuned for the next chapter!_

_yours truly, orangeturquoise_


	7. Chapter 7

_yeehaaah, I got a second review!!! doeslittlehappydance collapsesontofloor damn viruses, damn aching throat, doubledamned coughing fits!!! anyway, thanks winterrosa for the review :) _

_now, straight on. in this next chapter we will witness (what?? I just happen to like alliterations) some drama, real drama.how will it go on from there? be nice and review some more and I might tell you, hihi, definitely had too much tea today..._

_enjoy reading_

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**7****th**** Chapter: Found out**

Tseng awoke the next morning with very mixed feelings and a definite lack of sleep due to contemplating said emotions. Dammit, why did life have to be so complicated sometimes? Of course he knew that the company was anything but free of guilt. Heck, he had dropped the plate on Sector 7 himself and still regretted it. The experiments? They were no secret to him either. He had up to this day simply never realized what it actually meant for the specimen. By the way specimen was a horrible way to refer to a human being. It instantly made him think of that insane excuse for a human Hojo. _Nobody_ liked that guy, nobody could even _stand_ him. The professor was appaling at least and his crazy cackling alone made Tseng sick to his stomach on a regular basis.

Then there were the Turks. Just what it actually _meant _to be a Turk was almost impossible to put into words. They were his only family. Their loyalty to each other and to Rufus was absolute, and although many of the things he had to do for this job made him despise himself he also knew them better than they even knew themselves and thus knew that they were good people at heart. Not nice, surely, immoral, unethical they had been called. Even though they had helped a lot against the remnants many people still didn't think highly of the Turks. How could they? How many had lost so much to their bullets? One of them was sleeping next door.

Yet Shinra was the centre of his life and had been for almost 15 years. He had joined the company when he was still a teen, leaving behind his beloved home country. Tseng had wanted to save Wutai and ended up a traitor. Young and idealistic, he thought bitterly. The reality check came soon and he had had to rearrange. Still, he managed.

But he definitely _had _to tell Skye. In not doing so Tseng already felt like betraying her. In fact it had taken him about three quarters of the night to reach this decision. And here is the master plan: today he would confess. That he was a Turk, doing Shinra's dirty work. Somehow he would have to convince her then to stay and let herself be nursed back to health, which would likely be a problem, because she would hate him for sure. Furthermore he would _never_ tell anyone they even met.

Great, he thought sarcastically. This is a suicide mission either which way. Either she would kill him (or at least scratch his eyes out) or Shinra would find out that he didn't return an escaped experiment although he basically stumbled over her. That was high treason. They would have him exterminated by his own people! Only adding to his stress was the fact that his plan was, well, rubbish, mildly saying. Too many variables, far too much that he couldn't control. Shit, this _really_ was frightening. Generally he wasn't the type to run away from a challenge, but in this situation it was a tempting prospect. But no, she would find out everything sooner or later anyway. It was better he told her himself. Honesty was the path to follow, said his conscience. Not a path, a rock face to struggle up, but for her he would.

Sighing heavily he got up from the couch and made his way into the bedroom where Skye was sleeping. Gazing down at her sleeping form he swallowed hard. She looked so peaceful, so serene, so beautiful. He hated doing this to her. Gently he nudged her shoulder. She stirred a little before opening her intriguing lavender eyes. "Why do you always have to wake me up?" she growled, giving him a glare.

"I have to talk to you." He simply stated as seriously as he could.

Although clearly puzzled by his behaviour she invitingly patted the space to her left, motioning for him to sit. He did so, only on the guest matress on the ground which was still lying there. For a moment he struggled for words and seriously considered backing out, but luckily caught himself before. When finally he managed to speak it came out almost a whisper so as if not to scare her away with any increase in volume. Now how to say this?

"I am a Turk." He dared not look her in the eyes, so he only heard her gasp, but apparently the blunt statement had rendered her speechless and he took his chance to quickly continue.

"I grew up in Wutai. When I was a teenager my parents died, one shortly after the other, leaving me to care for my three younger siblings. They found shelter with relatives, none of which were very wealthy, so I decided to get a job in order to support them as well as possible. I joined Shinra. That was a good 14 years ago." He only dared to glance up enough to see Skye's hands clenched in distress. "A Turk?" she asked with shaking voice, not wanting to believe what she just learned. He only nodded. Instantly he felt a sharp impact on the side of his face, which made him wince, but drew no further reaction. Tseng felt like he deserved it.

Skye regretted slapping him the instant her hand connected to his cheek, but was too hurt to show it. Her voice could have frozen over hell as she started firing questions.

"What position?"

"First in command."

"How long?"

"Eight years."

"Did you know about the experiments?" her tone was venomous.

"Not in detail, but generally, yes. They only call us to retrieve escaped or new subjects."

"So I guess you'll just discard of me that way, huh? In that case you should handcuff me or you're in grave danger of substantial physical harm. Bastard! Shinra bloodhound!!!"

Especially the last words hit home as she was not only yelling them with searing rage, but also in Wutaian. Strangely the blatant use of his native tongue against him gave him a reality check. As sincerely as he possibly could and also in Wutaian he replied: "I won't make you go back. You are also not a captive in this house. You are a guest and as such free to leave whenever you wish, although it would be better if you stayed until you have regained your strength. " she just gave him a glare that would have even made Sephiroth back up and take cover fast. "I really am sorry for everything." He added. The sincerity of the apology actually managed to take away some of Skye's anger. At least the bit where she was going to strangle him with bare hands. Without any more words she stood and almost ran for the bathroom where she ripped of the clothing as if it was searing her skin and turned on the shower. Slumping down she clenched her fists and let the hot water envelope her body soothingly. Only now she allowed the tears to run freely.

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_and I said: do not anger this woman! but did anyone listen?_

_still R&R plz, (yes, I do realize that my self-deprecating begging IS annoying. there is only ONE way to stop it and you guessed right: reviews)_


	8. Chapter 8

_hey there, I just re-edited this chapter, cause it sucked. it's a bit better now or so I'd like to think. sorry it's short again. the next will be much longer because I plan to let a lot happen in it. as for the title, especially of this chapter, I tried myself at punning and failed miserably. whoever can suggest a better title for this or any other chap, or even the whole story, is welcome to voice it here via review. I won't mind, really, cause I know I suck at titles. reviews of any kind (as long as they are kind (oh, weak ego alert)) will be put to bed at eight sharp, but otherwise be spoilt rotten. they really do motivate me to write faster. ponder that! anyway, exam season is nearly over, the emphasis here clearly lies on 'nearly'. after that christmas holidays are coming up. still it could take a while util the next chapter, cause of some incomprehensible reasons my family wants me to celebrate with them. gah, anyway, enough of the boring author's talk. just enjoy and comment (constructively!)_

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**8****th**** Chapter: ****Dishing a ****Deal**

Tseng was standing in the kitchen, where the dishes of the past few days had piled up. He needed to occupy himself or go crazy. Plus he was an immaculate neat freak. Nevertheless it didn't help a bit. His thoughts were still circling about the events that he had just unfolded; his "confession" and Skye's outburst. It was understandable how she reacted. He just hated having to wait while the air was thick enough to cut with tension.

What had he gotten himself into there anyway? One moment of random kindness and everything went down the drain. He, the always detached and reasonable one, found himself in a turmoil of emotions. Emotions! Feelings, for goodness sake. He didn't even know he had had any left. His inner Turk was virtually grabbing him by the collar and shaking him vigourously, trying to get some sense back into him. And all because of a girl...who had been trough so much. Somehow Tseng felt with her. For her? What, exactly?

The door only gave a soft click when she hesitantly pushed it open. As quick as her temper was to rise so quick it was to cool off again. Guiltily she looked at the bright red mark her hand had left on his cheek. He didn't seem to have noticed her entry (in fact he was too caught up in his thoughts for that). Plucking up all her courage she silently made her way over to the sink, grabbed a towel and started drying.

It was a tense situation. Neither said a word for about five minutes. Skye felt her face turn red under his doubtful scrutiny. Finally she couldn't take it any longer.

"Could you maybe pass that pan ... ah, screw it! Listen, I'm sorry for going ballistic earlier. Of course I didn't really mean what I said to you. And I apologize for that, too. I said some horrible things which, once again, I didn't mean. I mean, well, ahem, ... yeah, I realized now that I was being unfair. After all you haven't really given me any reason not to trust you. And then thank you for telling me the truth, too. Thank you for everything else as well." After catching her breath she added: "For crying out loud, say something! Communicate with me, please. I'm already feeling a complete moron as it is."

"Don't apologize. It's not necessary." He actually couldn't think of anything else to say. Never having ben one of many, but at least the necessary words, he now found himself completely clueless. He just didn't know how to talk to that woman.

"But I feel horrible..." her voice trailed off insecurely how to put her thoughts into words.

After this a few moments of silence passed, giving both of them time to sort out their minds a little.

"So, shouldn't you actually be off ..." _killing people, blackmailing or doing espionage? Doesn't really sound so great. _"... working?" she finished lamely. _What a pathetic effort at conversation._

"Got send on vacation." _Well done, idiot. Can you not even form full sentences anymore?_his inner self scolded._ What a truly pathetic conversation._

"Oh...okay. ... " _and just insert awkward silence here, what a way to keep a dialogue going, _she inwardly muttered. " ... Well, I'm probably very prejudiced, but you don't strike me like the kind of person for a job like that at all, and usually I can rely on my instincts with judging things like that. "

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Ahem, yes. My point is: How come you ended up doing this job then?" _goodness, girl, would you mind thinking before you open your mouth? The environment would surely appreciate it. Shut up, brain, what do you know? By the way that would be your job. _If she kept talking to herself like that...

"Long story."

"I've got time. Which brings me to my next point. Now that I'm free again ... I actually have no idea what to do with my life. I mean, I have nothing. Maybe I should go and look for the place where I used to live."

"Would you like me to come with you?" _real smooth, you moron.Do you by any chance have a notion what the word subtlety means?_

The question startled her at first, but then she replied:

"Actually yes, please. I have a horrible sense of orientation and would probably get lost." After yet another short pause she put on an encouraged smile and added: "Let's go tomorrow."


	9. Chapter 9, Part 1

_helloooooooo, no I'm not dead (yet) although that is what 92 percent of my teachers seem to want. I'm terribly sorry for not updating after replacing the 8th chapter several months (!, I should slap myself) ago. the incredible happened: writer's block !!!! oh, why me? I have been good, almost always made my homework, didn't talk back an awful lot... _

_anyway, because I felt so bad for not updating in such a long time I now here, live and in black and white, present to you the first half of the 9th chapter. it is my fondest wish and hope that you enjoy it and my second fondest that you comment. until then_

_au revoir, good bye, auf wiedersehen and sayonara :)_

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**9****th**** Chapter: Uncle Jack's Old Place**

He looked outside. It was snowing. Skye was wrapped up in two jerseys plus a scarf, a coat and appropriate shoes, all of which he had to insist she wore. They were good to go, only...

"What's the matter?" he asked, more harshly than he wanted. She had stopped dead in her tracks at the door's threshold, an unreadable mixture of expressions on her face. At the sound of his voice she stirred slightly, but that was all reaction he could get for the next couple of moments. Eventually she had made up her mind and stepped outside with a heavy sigh.

"Nothing's the matter. Let's go. " She said, attempting to seem cheerful. It didn't work too well. _It must be scary for her, to go out into a world she doesn't know anymore_, Tseng thought.

The past day she had pestered him with questions about the past ten years, yet not only had he found that it wasn't pestering or annoying at all, but also that she had a very bright head on her shoulders. He had told her about Sephiroth and Jenova, Meteor, Avalanche, Geostigma and the remnants and he felt it did him good to get it all off his chest.

So now they were quietly walking the streets of the city, little clouds forming in front of their noses with every breath released. After a surprisingly short time, half an hour at the utmost, she paused and looked around, taking in every last detail of that particular street. With a swift movement she then turned into a back road in northern direction, but stopped after a few metres in front of a sturdy beige-greyish two-storey building. Tseng was next to her in an instant and squinted up at the sign above the entrance.

"Seventh Heaven." Skye read out solemnly. "Or as it used to be called: Uncle Jack's Old Place."

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Tifa Lockhart looked around her bar contently. Last night some of the patrons had begun a fight and she had had to bully Cloud into helping her clean up the place. It had turned out good as new, ready to welcome the regular crowd once again this night. Cloud sat at the counter and had poured them two cups of water. They clinked glasses playfully, proud of their accomplishment, when they heard a hesitant knock on the door. Confused Tifa turned to the blond man beside her. 

"Who in the world could that be?" she whispered.

"Yuffie?" Cloud suggested.

"No, she'd just come barging in, same for Cid and Barrett, besides she's taking a nap upstairs. Vincent and Nanaki are at Cosmo Canyon and the kids are at school. Apart from that who would come here at this time?"

Another knock interrupted before Cloud could answer.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" a soft female voice called from outside.

"Doesn't exactly sound like trouble." Tifa concluded, visibly relaxing, before calling: "The door's open. Please come in."

They couldn't have been more surprised if a bright purple chocobo with green spots had danced in and started singing Christmas carols. Funnily enough Tifa's very first thought was if Turks got the weekends off. It just seemed so implausible that the leader of the Turks would come into her bar on a Sunday noon, in tow a skinny brunette girl she had never met before. It was the oddest situation.

Cloud's thoughts were similar. He tensed involuntarily. He didn't know what to make of it. Tseng had given them the keystone at the Temple of the Ancients, after he and Reeve had stolen it from them. He was a Turk. The Turks had shot Zack, but he knew that Tseng had ordered to retrieve them alive back then. Zack had told him that the commander of the infamous Shinra agency actually was a good man. He had never really fought them directly. He had kidnapped Aeris. The Turks had helped them with the remnants and they hadn't really had any troubles with each other ever since. Cloud was left utterly confused.

Meanwhile Tifa's focus of attention had already shifted to the girl. She had never seen her before, or had she? The young woman had the most unusual eyes she ever had seen. Lavender. Remembering her manners Tifa asked: "Welcome to Seventh Heaven. How can I help you?" she had no idea how she possibly could.

Tseng could sense their confusion, their hesitance. He felt the need to explain, so he said: "Do not be alarmed. This has nothing to do with you. It's more of a private matter. "

"Ah, I ... see." Tifa replied. She really didn't but what did it matter anyway? The story to go with this haphazard assembly of people probably was too complicated to tell in a matter of moments. She decided that she would find out as much as she could. Her curiosity had been awakened. She turned to the girl: "And you would be?" though in a friendly tone.

The addressed, who had been gazing around the room, walked over to the counter and looked at the photo on the wall.

"I am that one there." She solemnly said and pointed to the image. This was getting really interesting now to Tifa. The photo was years old. It had already hung there when she had bought the bar from its previous owner. The old Mr. Morrisson had been a kind man, but too old to run the bar himself. He had been killed by Meteor. Curiously she stepped nearer and found that the two males followed her example almost in an instant.

Indeed she had never really consciously looked at the photo before. It showed three people: Mr. Morrisson himself standing behind the bar counter, smiling kindly, then a very pretty Wutaian woman leaning on one of the stools. She might have been in her late mid-thirties and wore a pale yellow summer dress and an apron. At last there was a young girl in her early teens, sitting on the counter with her legs dangling down. She wore something like a blue school uniform and had long caramel brunette hair in two braids. She grinned widely. The longer they gazed at the picture the more it became apparent that not only the girl on the photo and the young woman standing in their midst now were the same person. One also could recognize the resemblance of the two females in the picture: the same shape of nose, ears, lips, similar physique.

Nobody said anything for a while. Eventually Skye just reached up and took the frame down from the wall, then took the photo out of the glass. On the back it said: _'Uncle' Jack, Mikani & Skye Celestiano, on Skye's 13__th__ birthday_ in a smeary handwriting; and right under that, in a more elegant one: _Happy Birthday, my Darling, love, Mum_.

A sole tear rolled down her cheek.

To everyone's surprise Tseng reached up and wiped it away tenderly, causing Skye to look up and Tifa once again to wonder about the kind of connection between these two people. Meanwhile said individuals eyes had locked, lavender and anthracite like glued together. Apparently they had completely forgotten the world around them and just stood there, not even blinking. The Wutaian's expression was as stoic as ever. The girl's face showed a more vivid display of emotion, but even though it remained equally unreadable.

Celestiano ... like the girl's face this name was strangely familiar to Tifa, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Feverishly she went on searching her memory.

"Of course!!!" the brunette bar owner exclaimed triumphantly, causing everyone present to snap back into reality. Ignoring the puzzled looks she went on explaining: "The old Mr Morrisson had some things stored in here, amongst others a sealed cardboard box with that name on it: Celestiano. Would you like to see it? I think I know where I put it."

Sensing her hesitation Tseng quickly said: "I will wait here. Take as much time as you need." And in turn was graced with a grateful smile before the two women made their way upstairs.

It did not take a long time but a fair bit of rummaging through the fully packed closet. Just when they managed to pull out the box a sleepy looking ninja peeked into the room.

"Hey, Teef, what's all the commotion about? And who's that?"

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"Well, I guess it's only fair if I explain a few things here ...

Downstairs the two men appeared to stare each other down. Yet while Cloud genuinely tried to fight down severe feelings of anger, confusion and anxiety the leader of the Turks' mind was preoccupied with other things.

Not for the first time these days Tseng wondered just what exactly he was doing. While trying to ignore the other man's intense scrutiny he did what a Turk mustn't _ever_ do: he spaced out, got completely lost in thought. The building could have exploded right there and he would have been left completely unfazed (and probably killed by the detonation). The last time that had happened, him drifting off like this, had been when he was eight.

Recapitulating the past few days he eventually and reluctantly came to the conclusion that he absolutely stood beside himself. There was no other way to explain why he acted that contradictory to everything he had been for well over a decade. Was he losing control?

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_to be continued..._


	10. Chapter 9, Part 2

"... and that is basically all that happened up till now." The unexpected guest said with a shrug. Yuffie and Tifa looked at her with big eyes. They had been listening speechlessly for the last couple of moments.

"... Ten years ... wow ..." the ninja princess commented, obviously trying to comprehend such a fate.

"Well, it's done now. No use to wallow in self-pity about it much. " Skye calmly stated while further rummaging through the big cardboard box. "Hey, what's this? ... Oh my, I don't believe it!" she suddenly happily exclaimed. She pulled out a smaller black case. It was rectangular in shape and about an arm's length. With shivering fingers she slowly lifted the lid in a way that no one but her could see the cases insides. After what seemed like an eternity she took a dark brown, shiny violin out of it and held it in her long, thin fingers. She examined it like the features of a long lost friend whom she thought she'd never see again.

Attempting to break the awkward silence Tifa asked: "How long have you been playing for?"

"Since I could hold it. I don't know exactly because I was still little. Three or four. " she answered while raising the instrument up and testing the strings. It gave an awry sound upon which the girl grimaced and dove into the box again, only to re-appear with another little bag, now directing her attention completely towards tuning the violin.

Cloud had just brought himself to beginning a casual small talk with the silent Turk when the door opened again, only to reveal a very bewildered Nanaki and a typically stoic Vincent.

"What is he doing here?" Nanaki whispered to Cloud who simply shrugged in a way that said that it was too long a story for any explanation. Meanwhile Vincent had addressed the Turk commander in his usual deep baritone. He didn't answer.

From the outside the situation would have emitted an odd kind of comedy. Nobody said a word. Did Tseng ignore them willingly? Why was he here anyway? Though it was not visible on the outside it aggravated Vincent, so he made step toward the other man and addressed him louder and in Wutaian. That finally brought the Turk back to reality. He blinked, as if waking from a deep sleep, and just for a split second seemed perplexed that the number of others in the room had all of a sudden tripled.

"I beg your pardon. Maybe it would be better if I waited outside." He nodded curtly at Cloud and turned for the door.

Any further action that could have taken place was put to a halt by a faint, quiet, yet distinct sound, slowly growing weaker, then darkening, eventually vanishing only to be reborn fuller and brighter than before, forming a sequence, a motive and then evolving into a melody so lyrically full of graceful, suffering sadness. It spoke of loss and confusion, was mourning the bitter tale of longing, of existence itself, or so it seemed. Even though this music did not fail to provide consolation and hope built the undertone foundation with every chord. And so it rang and resonated from each and every wall, weaving a dense texture of sound trough the air until finally, regrettably, the soulful serenade faded on its last notes, and even though the song was sad all was well with the world for as long as so much as an echo reached the ears.

The next happening was a very anti-climactic scraping on wooden floors and the tapping of more than one pair of feet on the heavy steps. One after another the three young women descended the stairs.

Tseng's looks wandered to Skye immediately. She was carrying a black case and a bag, which assumedly contained her little possessions. He noticed that she seemed tired, so it would be preferable to make their way home again. For the sake of this purpose he kept the goodbye courtesies as succinct as possible without being insulting, which she was grateful for, and soon enough the two were out in the cold again.

The five Avalanche-members exchanged many looks after the door had closed behind the two visitors. Finally Nanaki spoke up: "How could the Shinra already know Vincent and I were searching through their old archives?"

"I actually don't think they do. Tseng was down here with Cloud the whole time and Skye's story fits the circumstances. Plus she seemed honest, wouldn't you say, Yuffie?" Tifa objected. "I would say it was a coincidence." She ended.

"Even if Shinra sent him he didn't find anything out. Tseng basically didn't say a word and was completely silent while you were upstairs. There also can't be anything he could have seen because you two have only just returned. Plus it doesn't really make sense that he would have the girl in tow." Cloud agreed with Tifa.

"But there are a few things that don't make sense to me." The ninja princess threw in and quickly retold Skye's story to the ones that hadn't heard it.

"Now my point is: being with the commander of the Turks can't exactly be considered as having escaped, yet that is exactly what she said: "I have _escaped_ the Shinra labs." Now when Tseng really is hiding her he would practically be betraying the company and we wouldn't have to worry about him coming here. If on the opposite he has the mission to have an eye on Skye why would they com here to search her past? It's just not plausible." Yuffie finally ended.

"Maybe the girl lied to..." Vincent began pensively, but couldn't end mouthing his concern as Tifa interrupted him determinedly.

"No, she is _not_ lying. Look at the photo, would you? It's over ten years old! And all the stuff in the box; ten years ago nobody could have even suspected everything that would happen."

Vincent had raised a brow at the brunettes outburst, but even he had to admit that the proof was credible. More concilliatory the bar owner continued: "I don't think that we can solve this mystery now. I don't think there is a danger from that side. Let's turn to what you two found in the old archives."

"Yes, we didn't find any hint to any more experiments with Sephiroth's DNA, but another thing caught our attention. There was quite a lot of material concerning a different research project. It was named "Project Hippocrates" and has the serial number 24601. We didn't have a chance to look waht exactly it comprises of, but we had the chance to bring some files here. Apparently the scientist in charge was not Hojo. It's classified as Top Secret´, too. I definitely think we ought to have a look at it." Nanaki summarised while Vincent placed a file-filled bag on the counter.

Meanwhile the subjects of the discussion were silently walking trough the snowed in city streets. No matter how hard he tried, Tseng just couldn't find a way to start a conversation that was even remotely passable. Why was it so hard the one day and next to impossible the other to simply talk? With an inward sigh he dared another side glance at his company. Now, next to the fresh snow he realized for the first time how pale she actually was, even more so than Vincent Valentine. A screeching sound ripped him out of the enclosed cosmos of his thoughts. It was inhumanly loud and disharmonious, exceedingly shrill and metallic. He saw the car out of the corner of his eye, how it headed directly for the two of them –


	11. Chapter 10

**10****th**** Chapter: Episodes**

The blood was rushing through her ears as if in a mad frenzy to escape. For a while she couldn't feel if she was still on the planet. This was irrational nonsense, of course. It was merely a sentiment, caused by the almost comical irony of the situation. Killed in a car accident? After surviving ten years in a damned test tube, for goodness sake?! Oh what a cosmic joke it would be. No, she hung onto her newfound life for dear life, literally.

Literally she had clawed her hands into the fabric of Tseng's coat, too. In her left leg she felt a dragging pain, so slight that it barely deserved that description. From experience she knew that it wasn't more than a shallow scratch, already healing under the influence of her unusual ability.

Gathering his senses he perceived that he was unharmed and lying on the icy ground of the walkway, his arms wrapped protectively around the fragile girl accompanying him. It must have been a reflex when he realized the car was coming for them. It turned out to be just right, because tyre tracks darkened the snow on the exact spot where Skye had stood before. Said vehicle was crashed into a lamppost. Apparently the driver had lost control on the frozen ground and had only managed to pull away in the last second. Not many people were out in the streets on a day as cold as this, but some soon gathered around the place of the almost-accident.

"Are you alright?" she asked with a shaky voice, although smiling, despite the shock. Their faces were only inches apart, but separated by the whitish fog of their breath condensating in the cold winter air. He nodded to answer her question.

"It's the second time you saved my life then I guess. I'll be owing you big time forever. "She stated, whispering. It was funny how she seemed to weigh nothing at all in his arms.

"Come on up, otherwise you'll catch a flu because of me and how in the world am I ever going to make that up?!" she went on exclaiming with mock distress, her nose crinkled from her inward giggles.

"It's alright." He responded calmly.

"You're sweet." She gave him a peck on the cheek and scrambled to her feet, quickly turning her face so he could not see her reddened cheeks. He smiled while getting up as well. "So are you." He thought, not feeling cold at all.

"I shall destroy you!" she said with a devilish glint in her eyes and put her knight forward. It was good that they were not playing Poker, because her triumphant look and general demeanour would have scotched any of her chances. In chess however it did nothing and so she was on the brink of defeating him for the third time in a row, out of three games. Seen that way she was indeed destroying him. Tseng did not even let her win deliberately or anything of the kind. Perhaps he was simply distracted; he had some troubles concentrating for some reason.

Actually, how had it come to this strange nocturnal encounter in the lounge? He hadn't been tired and decided to spend the evening hours with a book until he was. Skye had been exhausted both physically and mentally and so decided to catch some sleep, only to re-emerge from the bedroom after a good two hours of ineffective turning around between the blankets. 

She just couldn't fall asleep with so much on her mind, thus decided to get up and do something, go bugging her host for example.

Sneaking into the next room she saw Tseng sitting on the couch, apparently absorbed with the book in his hands. What she in turn didn't know was that he had been staring at the same page for over an hour and for the life of him couldn't have said what the bleeding book was about. He had taken it from the shelf randomly and never made it past the first few pages. In his mind the events of the past days were replaying in an equally confusing manner and not for the first time he wondered what he had gotten himself into there.

She had always been the touchy type, never much afraid to make contact with others, always the one to just run up to either parent for a cuddle. Plus, ten years without, she had some catching up to do. On these grounds it was not that hard for Skye to sneak up on Tseng until not even a hair would have found space between them. Curiously she leaned over his shoulder to get a view at his book, wondering what could be so enrapturing. He got a considerable shock when he noticed that Skye had appeared next to him, as it had to seem, out of thin air.

"Goodness, do never, repeat: _never_ sneak up on a Turk like that if you love your life!" a defensive glare accompanied his words.

Her only response was a wicked grin, well knowing that she had startled him.

"Is it really that thrilling?" she asked, pointing towards the book, then seamlessly stated: "I can't sleep."

"My thanks, I wouldn't have noticed." He remarked ironically, more annoyed at himself for letting his guards down like that. "So what now?"

"Oh well, I don't know. Looks like you can't sleep either, so let's do something productive." She suggested with a sly smile. She knew exactly what she was getting at. He didn't have the nerve to give her contra so he just decided to play along. "What were you thinking of?" he asked acquiescently.

"Well, " her smile widened, now showing the regular white teeth, "do you play chess?"

Now where were we? Tseng was distracted. Maybe it was the way she scrunched up her nose, furrowed her brows and bit the side of her lip when she was in deep thought about how she would react to his next move, with that look of deep concentration in her extraordinary lavender eyes. Maybe it was the way her whole face lit up when she thought she had found the best possible solution. Maybe it was the migraine he began to feel.

Skye wasn't so frank herself. Actually she was dead exhausted, only she didn't yet have the strength to be alone. She knew she either needed company, some distraction, or she would sooner or later brood over everything, which would eventually lead to some disastrous effects, like a nervous breakdown. The smile she wore was, at this point, a mere facade, a shadow of the actual Skye as she had been in better times and the goal of how she wanted her life to be again: a reason for some genuine smiling. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?


	12. Chapter 11

hello again. unfortunately this chappie is very _very_ **veeeryyyy** short again, BUT it gives an important turn in the storyline.

* * *

**11****th**** Chapter: Memo**

_To: Shinra Intelligence Agency_

_Re: Mission: Recovery of scientific research subject_

_From: Science Department, Bio-Medical Division, Recreation Technique Research_

_A research subject has escaped the facility. Its immediate retrieval is absolutely vital for the success of the current scientific project. The description is as follows:_

_-female_

_-around 20 years of age_

_-5, 5 ft_

_-brown hair_

_-violet eyes_

_The scientific staff of the Hippocrates Project relies on the tests with this subject. For further information look up project number 24601. Return the subject to Bio-Medical Dept., Science Wing, lab complex 42 ASAP._

_Dr E. Berlingstone_

"D'you have any idea who this Berlingstone dude is, Rude?" Reno asked his partner with a lot of disgust in his voice. He didn't like the haughty tone of the memo they had just read.

"Never heard of him." his fellow Turk replied.

"I don't like the tone of this." The red head mumbled annoyed to himself. While typing in the given project number into the PC he went on rambling a little louder: "How are we supposed to find anything with that little information anyway? There are millions of people in this city alone! What's this little lab rat thinking? "

Meanwhile a red restriction warning appeared on the screen. "Dammit, no access without the authorization codes. The boss has those, right?"

"Yes." His bald partner simply replied.

A wide grin appeared on Reno's face. He had missed several days of getting on Tseng's nerves already. "Let's go then."


	13. Chapter 12

**12****th**** Chapter: The H-Files**

"Are we there yet?" the skinny ninja princess piped up for the umpteenth time this day. Of course he had to be stuck with the brat for this! Vincent sighed inwardly. True, Tifa has her bar, Cloud has his delivery service, Cid had his responsibilities in Rocket City and toward his wife Shera, Nanaki had ... at least given them a map. Well, it seemed like the two of them were the only ones without any immediate obligations.

"Vince, I asked are we there yet?"

"..."

"Hey, talk to me!"

"When we have reached our destination you will be able to recognize that from the fact that the vehicle has stopped moving." was his annoyed response. He knew she was just hyperactive.

"Fine." She made a face. "How much longer will it take?" this time his sigh was very audible. Could Yuffie never just be quiet and do something less Yuffie-like.

"Why don't you admire the scenery to pass the time?"

" 'Cause that's like sooo boring! I wanna uncover the truth behind these mysterious files now!" she dramatically shoved the "Hippocrates Project"-file into his face, causing him to frown and sigh emphatically.

"Yuffie, I am driving and I would really appreciate it if you didn't do that again. "

"Fine! Suit yourself!" she pouted.

Half an hour later they had finally found it: a large hidden cave in Cosmo Canyon; one of the secret Shinra backup archives. It looked like nothing suspicious really, just an odd crack in the red rock. It looked like nothing suspicious really, just an odd crack in the red rock. Yuffie, as impatient as always, stepped forward to where the entry was supposed to be. Just in time Vincent could grab her by the collar and pull her back and away from the bright laser beam.

"What the hell?" she asked with considerable shock.

"Special Shinra security measures. Did you think they would leave all this incriminating information unprotected?"

"No, but ... well, I kinda ... didn't ..." she stammered. Her eyes went wide when realization seeped in: "Oh my sweet Leviathan, I was almost grilled!!" she exclaimed loudly.

Vincent in the meantime had proceeded to examining the side wall of the rock. Judging by his experience as a Turk this is where he would find a little panel to type in an authorization code. Indeed the object in question was quickly found, the problem that remained was finding the right code, because the wrong one could set off a chain reaction and have them catapulted into the lifestream in a second. Not that he'd mind all that much but it would be a pity for Yuffie's young life to find such an abrupt ending. Their friends would be devastated.

"Vincent, say something!" the princess ordered with a shaky voice.

"Don't go near the entrance again until I have figured this out." He responded dismissively.

"Thanks, I wasn't planning to." The ninja's voice was dripping with irony as she came up next to him, careful to keep a big distance to the rock's other side.



"So what now?" she inquired while curiously eyeing the little touchpad embedded into the stone.

"Now we either need to have the right code, " Vincent began to explain.

"What if we get it wrong?" the ninja interrupted.

"Well, usually these systems give you two tries. If it's wrong the first time nothing happens, but if there's a mistake in the second one the system will activate the intruder destruction."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning we'll probably be blown up without the correct code."

"Which we don't have. So how are we gonna get in there now, Vinnie?" he grimaced at the mention of his nickname.

"Well, as I was going to say, Yuffie, it's either the code or finding a way to turn off the system. " he stated matter-of-factly.

"And how are we gonna do that?" Yuffie went on inquiring. A look of desperation began shadowing her face as she already saw their mission failing.

"I might have an idea, take cover please." He replied while already scanning the panel's surface for a weak part with the sharp fingertips of his golden gauntlet.

"What in the world-"

"Yuffie, cover, now!" he ordered with a tone that tolerates no resistance. Begrudgingly she complied, not without laying a small hand on his arm and saying: "Be careful, Vincent."

As soon as she was hidden behind a big boulder he went to work. Fortunately these electronics were fairly old, just the type in fact on which he had learned how to crack locks back when he had been trained to be a Turk. With a swift pull of his golden claw he lifted the keypad and exposed the wires underneath. There were three of them that had to be cut in an exact order. Calmly he recalled those moments of his training. It was never the red one, that much was for sure. Too clichéd. The clou actually was that in building this type of control panel no wire colours were specified. One actually had to know and see which wire served what purpose. Only then could you be successful. In this case he determined the sequence of wires as yellow, blue and purple. After double- and triple checking he quickly divided the wires with a sharp edge of his gauntlet upon which the entrance of the cave screeched open.

The next thing he heard was a sharp and exasperated exhaling from the ninja princess. It sounded an awful lot like she had held her breath the entire time.

Inside it was dark and dusty. It smelled of old paper and even older rock. As the place was probably plastered with traps Vincent reminded the ninja not to jump around like a rubber ball, which she usually would. Upon lighting a flashlight rows and rows of shelves appeared in their view. It was a downright labyrinth.

"Where the heck do we start?" she stated with almost comic despair. Although so far the mission had been going well Yuffie seemed to get more frustrated the further it progressed.

Vincent took out the rather thin folder that contained everything they knew so far about this "Hippocrates"-project. It wasn't much at all.

"Let us begin our search under H´." Vincent calmly responded.


	14. Chapter 13

_hey there, thought I should upload something again (after like an eternity). do you guys even remember how it all began? anyway, actually this was supposed to be the 14th chapter, but the original chapter 13 isn't done yet and won't be for some time to come (although it's already half-finished). sorry. it all depends on a) sudden inspiration and b) the time my vile teachers are going to leave to me for non-schoolrelated things such as sleeping ... _

_enough of that, as always **constructive **criticism/ reviews are welcome_

**13****th**** Chapter: It's just the bare atrocities, the bare Shinra atrocities...**

Wutai's young crown princess felt sick. Not only was it the stuffy, dusty air in the secret Shinra bunker, but rather the contents of file number 42061: the infamous Project _Hippocrates_. In the beginning it had seemed like a mix-up. The first some ten folders of the meticulous records only contained dossiers, articles, catalogues, diaries and such concerning the ancient tribe of the Roxolani. Never numerous, nomads living a harsh life they had populated the planet even before the Cetra culture had begun to develop. Yuffie was just about to throw the seemingly irrelevant files into the next best corner when she came upon the following passage, a translation of an early Cetra chronicle. The excerpt itself was taken from a letter:

_The Roxolan nomads make their winter quarters near the cliffs of Jununna _(now Junon, note from the author)_, at the storm-grey ocean. Though they are not many they avoid no encounters. In fact I have counted but twenty grown men, and about equally as many old men, some sixteen or seventeen. The women do not leave the sides of their children, but their numbers may be almost equal. My uncle's Roxolan acquaintance, who is our guide as well as interceder with his people, mentioned that every daughter of his people is cared for by her husband. _

_..._

_Of all the remarkable wonders we have encountered here the following seems to me the most noteworthy, although I am afraid that nobody at home will believe the story I am about to share with you, even though each of my companions has seen the phenomenon with his own eyes and would swear by the honour of his clan that it were indeed true. _

_The young Roxolani men, who had not yet been initiated, were hunting in between the ragged cliffs, which have sharp edges and are on average two to three times the height of our main temple _(about 45 feet, note from the author)_. Often enough it happened that they were careless, much to their worried mothers' dismay. Yet there has not been a single case of severe injury or even death amongst them. Even as my companions and I saw two sons of the tribal elder fall from the cliffs onto the rocky ground no real bother was to be detected, which we understandably found bewildering. Yet I swear by the life of my firstborn that the same two boys returned to the campsite but an hour later with not so much as some cuts (which had completely disappeared by the next morning already) and ragged clothing, for which they were scolded by their mother. _

_Although open-minded on all other matters we discuss the secrets behind their miraculous recoveries cannot be brought out of them. Whenever I or one of my companions tries to elaborate on the subject the Roxolani, from youngest baby to oldest man, refuse explanations and begin to praise the mercy and generosity of their gods. ..._

Now that was just the motivation the ninja princess had needed to proceed. In the following she read through many more historic records, roughly tracing the whereabouts of the mysterious Roxolani people through many centuries. Though it became apparent that this race had an astounding ability of self-healing the harshness of their nomadic life, sparse food and fights had diminished their already small numbers to "maybe a handful, and none of unaltered blood" by the present day. Nowadays the Roxolani were almost distinct. Except for ...

"The individuals, who carry a Roxolan heritage within their genes can be recognized at once, if not by the workings of the still unfathomed self-healing abilities, then surely on the basis of the unusual eye colour, which ranges over every known shade of violet and has not yet been discovered on any member of another ethnicity." So it said in another scientist's report.

"Oh dear Leviathan in all your mercy!" the Wutaian princess called out in realization.



She and Vincent had actually begun reading through different parts of the files, in order to "conquer the issue from two fronts at once", how the ex-Turk had put it. In the course of that approach Yuffie had started with the surrounding research while Vincent had begun directly with the detailed scientific protocols of the project itself. As it contained photographs and names he had long learned what Yuffie had just concluded: This Shinra medical research programme was the same hell the strange girl with the big violet eyes had been put through. They had actually tried to decipher, extract and utilize the impeccable healing powers of an ancient people for their own purposes and also as an alternative to the still imperfect Mako treatment. Only it had never really succeeded in any noteworthy way. The only conclusions won by the responsible scientist Prof. Berlingstone were how external factors influenced the ability within the carrier herself: Skye.

"So they tortured her ten long years ... for nothing?" Yuffie tried to comprehend.

"Not quite." Was Vincent's only reply as he handed her one last folder, which in exception to the others, was quite thin. "There has been one successful case, the only time they brought their results to use and that only because it was an emergency."

Yuffie buried her nose deep in the last papers and began to read curiously, even though her eyes were burning and her back aching.

She always knew it. All of Avalanche had been suspicious. They had seen the Turk commander in a vast puddle of his own blood, lying on the floor at the temple of the Ancients. No normal person could have possibly survived that. Although he hadn't been there anymore when they left the temple there had been a silent agreement that he must have been dead, until that very same person had happened to let himself and his partner be caught by the three silverheads, only to be rescued by Vincent Valentine and, although tortured, in surprisingly good health for someone who was supposed to be dead.

So that's how they had pulled off that stunt. Bloody Shinra, always an ace up their sleeve.

What intriguing news. They even managed to trigger a last revelation in Yuffie's exhausted brain.

"Do you think the he knows and that is why he is helping her?" she asked tiredly, but not without that excited glint in her dark eyes.


	15. Chapter 14

**14****th**** Chapter: Role Reversal**

It is truly amazing how fast one can get accustomed to another person. It had been a little short of two weeks since Tseng had found Skye on the street, injured and desolate. Now it felt as if had lived here with him forever. Maybe it was just two broken souls finding comfort in each other's misery. Who could tell? Although sometimes awkward situations still occurred between the two of them they got along considerably well. As time progressed she became less timid and he less of a recluse. Many times he found himself at least inwardly smiling, be it at a comment she made or because of the look on her pretty face in some or other situation.

In many ways they were very similar. They had no real family and no home that they could turn to. In a way they were providing this sort of refuge for the other, though it was subtle. Either one was too proud to admit how far this dependency reached already. It would have made them vulnerable. Neither could imagine the status quo to end, although both knew perfectly well that it couldn't possibly last forever. However, for the time being they were considerably content in this bubble-wrapped vacuum far from reality.

Regardless of the overall situation right at this moment Tseng felt just a tiny bit miserable. Of course he had gotten sick. Lying in the half-liquid snow is detrimental to one's health. Figuring he realized that it had been more than 12 years since he had last gotten ill. Same back then as today it was a nasty flu that had connivingly attacked and overpowered his immune system, leaving him with the whole programme: basically no voice, extensive coughing fits, a mean headache that seemingly never paused and fever. High fever and shivers. Actually he felt quite awful. Because of this it was very convenient that Skye had instantly taken on the role of his very personal nurse, though employing a strange mixture of bossiness and mother hen, also proving to be both incredibly effective and helpful. It was really more than anyone could ask for. He could hardly remember the last time someone had been this concerned about his well-being that it felt strange to receive so much attention all of a sudden.

Right now Skye gracefully slid into his room. Only the light shuffle of her bare feet on the carpet could be heard. She was carrying a cup filled with a rather dark liquid as well as a thermometer and some aspirins. Up until now he had been sitting up, trying hard to concentrate on a magazine and failing miserably in doing so.  
"Hey, you're not supposed to get up yet." The slender brunette remarked in a playful tone, but not without a certain firmness in her voice.  
"Yes, drill sergeant." He replied with mock irony and put the paper away. He couldn't concentrate anyway and with almost 104° F of fever and a raging headache he really neither had the energy nor the nerve to contradict her.  
With an equally mocking glare she handed him the cup, which contained Chopori, a traditional Wutaian household remedy against any kind of cold. Though being extremely effective the stuff had the slight advantage of knocking the patient out completely for a few hours. Plus it tasted disgusting, but that is just how medicine is supposed to be.

Tseng awoke again, feeling an awful lot better, to a strangely familiar melody. Due to the flu his head felt like packed in cotton wool, so he needed a bit to recognize the melody, but when he did it brought back a flood of memories.

"_Ima made deatta takusan no  
__Kimi to kimi to kimi to kimi to kimi to kimi to kimi to  
__Kore kara deau takusan no  
__Kimi to kimi to kimi to kimi to tomodachi"_

_On a soft note his mother ended the song and put the shamisen away. She sang to her four little children every night. This special song, although meant to be sung for farewell, was their favourite and they hardly ever wanted another when bed-time came.  
_"_Again Mommy, again, again!" the youngest piped up. She was only four and could never get enough.  
_"_No, that was enough. It is late already. You should all be fast asleep."Their father stood in the doorframe, and although his voice left no room for protest he was smiling fondly at his family. _

"_Tomodachi."_ At first Tseng was surprised to find that Sky knew the song, could even play it on her violin, but her own mother had been Wutaian after all. She had probably taught her daughter many things apart from the language, he figured.

Said person now popped her head through the door and smiled broadly. She had probably heard him shift. "Hey there, how do you feel?"  
"Much better, thank you." His voice betrayed his words a bit. His throat was still aching, so he could only whisper hoarsely.  
"Better, but still not all that well." She concluded, then, without warning jumped to the next topic. "It's three p.m."  
His tattered brain couldn't make the connection fast enough, so Skye explained: "Tea time. I'll go and make us some. That'll help your throat, too."  
"So, what was that piece you just played?" he tried to sound inconspicuous, as if he only wanted to start a casual conversation. Skye didn't answer immediately. Unlike usual she took her time, sipped some tea, just as if she wanted to make sure she got everything right.  
"It's called "_Fantasia on a children's farewell_" and is based on a traditional song, or so I was told. Mum refused to ever teach me more than the language and a few necessities that came with daily life." She sounded sad as she said it, more regret- than resentful, and it made him regret bringing up the topic. So that was the crux of the matter: the mother and her elusive relationship to her home country. However it may have been was not for him to judge.  
"I'm sorry for bringing ..." he began, but was cut off when she just waved it aside.  
"It's alright, really. You probably know the original song, no? I only came to it because of this composer called João Makeda. He was half-Wutaian, like me, only a hundred years ago. He did many fantasias on traditional folk songs, but only for violin."  
"I'm so sorry I can't help you more." She proceeded, again changing topics, so that at first he couldn't make any sense of it.  
"Please, you do more by far than I could possibly ask."  
"This?" she gestured at the tea cups, then looked at her slender hands in a way a mechanic might look at a tool that didn't work the way it was supposed to. "Isn't it ironic? If you shattered every single bone in your body it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but a few bloody germs put me to shame."  
"However, I really appreciate your care."

It was a tender moment they shared. Fate didn't grant them any time to enjoy it, however, but chose this moment to send onto two lost souls a dreaded revelation. The door bell rang, its high-pitched sneering disturbing the stillness that had lingered here before.  
"Damnit!" both muttered simultaneously. "You stay here." He suggested before loosely throwing on a shirt and, after ensuring that Skye couldn't be seen from the entrance area, opened the door. On the other side of it were his only two remaining Turks, both as constant in their appearance and demeanour as the changing of the seasons. Tseng gave his subordinates a stern look. Vacation was vacation after all, so whatever they wanted, it had better be important.

"Damn, bossman, you look bloody awful, yo." Reno greeted. Tseng chose to ignore the redhead's usual teasing and came straight to the point.  
"This better be important and you better make it quick."  
"Hey, no stressing there. Thing's this: we got this new mission from science dept. And now we need those codes for getting into top secret files or else we can't do anything, yo." With this said Reno handed over the mail they had gotten previously. Tseng took it without reading.  
"So what are you trying to tell me here, Reno?"  
"Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to retrieve the missing subject and return her to the laboratory." Rude summarized.  
Tseng flew over the print out of the professor's mail. Even in a normal situation the mere tone of it would have pushed his buttons. There was no way that some stinking, maniacal lab rat would order around the Turks like that. There always had to be a choice, it was one of the main principles in being a Turk. Now that Skye came into the equation his decision was clear. "No." He calmly replied and shoved the offensive paper back into his subordinate's hands.  
"Pardon me, sir?" Reno blinked. Even Rude seemed to look irritated behind his sunglasses.  
"No, we choose not to accept this mission. We have no obligation whatsoever to endure being insulted and looked down upon by some pretentious, reality-removed, insane scientist. He can look out for himself. Neither of us is here to play the nanny. Am I being understood?"  
The two other Turks seemed dumbstruck. This was not like their boss. Tseng never turned down a mission before. Reno was visibly speechless, Rude saw himself forced to abandon his usual silence.  
"So we are not to pursue this request. What do we say then?"  
"Well, I'm quite sure there are more pressing matters to be taken care of. How about you catch up on your paperwork, Reno?" although formulated as a question the redhead knew that this was an order. Even though he disliked the professor's message just as much at least a mission itself held much more appeal than the mountain range-sized piles of paper on his desk. But well, an order is an order and maybe that lab rat would find some more appropriate formulations and they would come back to it later.


	16. Chapter 15, Part 1

**15****th**** Chapter, Part 1: What would Freud say?**

"They were looking for me, weren't they?"

Of course she had figured that out. A complete retard would have been able to piece that together. But what was he going to say now?

_'Yeah, these are my Turks. As I knew right from the start they received the order to look for you and bring you back into that hell hole you risked your life escaping from. It might interest you that at least my life will be worth a whole lot less when it comes out I kept you hidden here. So, in effect we're both pretty much ostracised by Shinra, with the difference that they want you alive while I can consider myself a goner as soon as we've got them on our tracks. How I know my Turks are that capable? Because I trained them.'_

It was the truth, but Tseng just couldn't bring himself to open his mouth and voice it. Still, she saw the hopelessness in his face. Bright as she was she evaluated the situation, made the connections and came to a conclusion.

"There is nothing for me here. I must go." She stated solemnly.

"But..." he started to protest while trying to reach the door handle before her. She beat him to it by a split second, resulting in his hand gently but firmly enclosing hers.

"No. No but, Tseng. I'm sorry for any circumstances. Please let me out." she stood only inches apart from him with her head held down. "Please..." she begged again and tried to open the door, but he strengthened his grip around her bony fingers. By pure force of his will he tried to make her look up, and failed.

"Please let me. I have to go. Why won't you let me leave?" she started to sob softly. "Why?"

"Because..." why could he never find the right words? _`Because I need you.´_ he thought.

He was caught double off-guard; for one by the sudden impact of this realization. It hit him like a bullet and paralyzed him. Secondly because Skye had flung her other arm around his waist and hugged him tightly.

"You said that I am a guest and free to go. Now I need to. I have got to leave this city. Please. For the sake of both of us. Please." There was a pause when nobody said a word.

"Please, or tell me: Was I wrong to put my trust in you?" She begged one last time while her face was buried in his chest. He was in a turmoil of conflicting emotions. Of course she wasn't safe here. It would only be sensible if she left, especially as long as Reno and Rude didn't even suspect she had ever been near his place. On the other hand he did not want to lose her. After a seemingly endless moment he embraced her slim frame as well, fast and passionately. In a matter of seconds he tried to take in as much as possible: the scent of her hair, the warmth her skin emitted and the way her body fit into his arms ideally. Then, in one swift movement he turned them both around a bit and opened the door. Finally, finally she managed to look into his eyes.

"Where will you go?" Was all he could ask. His voice was hoarse.

"Thank you." She squeezed him one last time, "Thank you." She turned around after about half the hallway. "I'm going to search for my mum's family in Wutai." She simply answered his last question. "Farewell Tseng."

He stood and watched her disappear behind the next corner. He should just run after her. It would be a matter of seconds and a couple of steps, yet the first one seemed impossible already. Even if he reached her, what should he say or do? Nevertheless _she mustn't leave_, not now. As irrational as the thought was as much was he reigned by it right now. A woman shouldn't walk the streets alone at night, especially not in this city, and she was so frail. She couldn't really defend herself and didn't he know just too well what kind of slugs were out at this hour and what they would do to a defenceless woman, especially if she was as gorgeous as Skye? Just in that very moment it started raining heavily. Before he even realized it his hand had grabbed the nearest coat and his feet carried him outside. There was only one other person nearby, a slim dark silhouette. Skye. He ran. It seemed like an eternity until he reached her. How could she have gotten this far within a matter of moments? Not dwelling on the thought he continued running after her.

"Wait!", his first futile attempt at calling out was almost completely swallowed by yet another nasty coughing fit, not that it would have carried through the incessant noise of the rain anyway. Still keeping going he grabbed her sleeve, effectively making her stop dead in her tracks, and spun her around to face him. "Wait."

"What!?" he couldn't determine exactly if she sounded more upset, resentful or distressed. Her already soaking wet hair hung in her beautiful face. His response came almost mechanically: "You can't ... I mean you better not go yet."

"And why not?" this time she was definitely distressed, her shaking voice showed it.

"It's raining." Finally she looked up, or rather, looked him up and down, taking in his equally wet and dishevelled appearance: the hair, the soaked shirt and the coat that he had not even put on but merely carried over his arm. "You'll catch a sure death out here!" she concluded after her scrutiny. "Get back inside immediately! You must be completely crazy; absolutely, utterly and completely out of your mind, you maniac!" she started to mutter the second part after unsuccessfully trying to shove him back to the general direction of the entrance.

"So?" Tseng questioned her.

"So what?" she snapped back distressedly.

"Have you made up your mind? You really shouldn't be walking through the city at night, especially in this rain."

"Oh, what are you talking about? It's not raining," he blinked at this stark denial of the obvious, but then Skye went on: "Where I used to come from we call this kind of weather a torrential downpour. Now get a move on."

"Where I come from we would call this monsoon." He smirked, but wouldn't give up until he had gotten a clear answer. "Well?" he inquired again. She gave him a glare and sighed exasperatedly while throwing her slender arms up in the air in mock defeat.

"Fine, you win! I'll stay until tomorrow and until tomorrow only! I mean it!"

And with that she proceeded with her humble tries of pushing him back inside, only this time he readily gave in. He only barely heard her half angered, half concerned mutterings over the torrential downpour, but he thought he definitely sounded out the words "manipulative" and "bloody fool". _Maybe I am_, he thought, but left it at that, satisfied enough to have delayed Skye's leave. His weapon of choice was always the one that worked best.

Upon him closing the door behind them she stormed off into the bathroom. Upon her return she carried an armful of towels, a few of which she tossed at him aggravatedly.

"Are you angry with me now?" he timidly asked as they both dried their hair.

"What do you think? Of course! Well, maybe not ... all that much. Perhaps, I don't know. In parts, most definitely. Most likely, actually." She muttered incoherently.

"Are you now or are you not?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know. Will you stop interrogating me, for the love of ...aarrgghh! Well, if I wasn't before I surely am now. Why do you care anyway?" her face had considerably reddened now, her temper rising. For a moment he felt guilty for putting Skye through this. Obviously she had no clue how to deal with the situation, but then again neither did he.

"So I might gain a slight chance to brace myself for the impending impact?" he suggested, the gallows humour he had acquired throughout his Turk years coming through.

"Yeah, that's right. Fear my wrath!" she grimaced, but couldn't hold back a small grin. "Put on something dry." She then ordered with a sigh and turned to make her way into the kitchen. Tseng heard the light clinking sounds of dishes and water that was being boiled. So she was making them some nice, hot tea. He did as he was told and quickly put on dry clothes. The adrenaline wore off now and as he pitifully dragged himself into the living room he felt as miserable as a pile of crap again. Huddled up on the couch he gratefully took the steaming cup of tea from Skye, his 'Thank you' are barely audible whisper. She sat down across from him and darkly glowered at her own cup. Her lips were pursed tightly and her brows furrowed.

"The train is the best connection to Wutai from here, fastest and most secure." He remarked, attempting to distract her from her rising aggravation. She didn't look up, only nodded weakly. She looked tired, deep, dark circles marring the skin under her eyes. "You should sleep some until morning." He rasped. Now life returned to her features.

"Don't you patronize me!" she growled. She was just as overwhelmed by the situation as he was, and now she needed to take out her frustration on someone, and there was no one else but Tseng. He bore it like he always bore everything: patient and without complaint. As long as she was safe he'd bear whatever he had to.

"I can drive you there in the morning." He said.

"You're in no fit state to drive." She shot back, still glaring, still upset.

"I've had worse afflictions in my lifetime." He replied, and it wasn't a lie.

"Ok then. Thanks." She muttered in defeat. "Better get packing then, huh?"

She did so, but since her humble worldly belongings were hardly worth a mention it didn't take long before she re-entered the room. Tseng had dozed off in the meantime and hardly took notice of Skye leaning onto him at first, her head with the damp hair resting on his shoulder, and wrapping a blanket around their cuddled up forms. Her skin felt chilly against his feverish hot body. Within a few minutes both were fast asleep and no coughing fits disturbed their slumber.

* * *

_I' sooooo sorry for neglecting this story for so long. The sad thing is that I can't promise you that will ever get better, because I'm just the most horrid updater ever. Sorry!!! Still, tell me what you think, what you liked and didn't like, any ideas, questions ... I long for feedback. Reviews make me update faster, that much I can tell you for sure. _


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